NotAVampireLvr Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Situation: 7 y.o. first grader (November birthday) We pulled him from school for a variety reasons. His report cards have all been "progressing towards the standard". Comments include: difficulty staying on task (but his papers all come home perfect), being silly in class, sloppy work (due to rushing), daydreaming. Also had a slew of positive comments such as team player, good friend to all, etc. During parent teacher conferences for both kindy and first grade I asked if he was bored and they said no. Both teachers did give him extra work to do, but nothing super advanced. When I asked for a list of standards and realized he had shown us at home he met them all we decided to pull and HS. I planned to accelerate him to 2nd grade level work. We're now planning on moving him into Singapore 3A (which we're thinking he's going to easiyl be able to push through) and he just tested at a grade 3 independent reading level, instructional level for grade 4 reading. Nothing totally off the charts or anything like that for reading. In this situation, its really not worth testing is it? My MIL (former gifted and talented teacher) really wants us to get him tested but I can't think of any advantages really. He's being homeschooled anyway and the plan is just to accelerate him as needed. The level he tested at for reading is actually a plateau for him that he seems to be pushing through so I know his reading level is probably going to make a big jump in the next couple of months. I think he's just a bright kid, but my MIL thinks that he might be gifted and that he hasn't had a chance to show us yet because he hasn't been challenged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I agree with you. Although I know it's natural to be curious. If you can get it done relatively cheaply, then it can't hurt, but I wouldn't go spending thousands or even hundreds of dollars on it. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenneinCA Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 If you are confident about providing the correct level of material, don't suspect any learning differences, and there are no programs you need scores to get into... don't test. It can be expensive and the money can be better spent on other things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotAVampireLvr Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 If you are confident about providing the correct level of material, don't suspect any learning differences, and there are no programs you need scores to get into... don't test. It can be expensive and the money can be better spent on other things. I'm been giving him reviews from the lower level books to make sure it wasn't a fluke before moving him higher than I thought he would be in. He seems to catch on to thinks quick - I don't think he has a different way of learning ... he just "gets" things without much effort. And HS is long term... the only reason we would need scores or something is for some reason he had to go back to public school. He would definitely need them to be accelerated. I don't see that as an issue until upper middle school and only then if we were unable to provide him what he needs at home. In my area though I don't even see that as being a challenge. Sticking a child into a higher grade in middle school is the LAST thing I want for him to have to deal with socially so it would have to be a worse case scenario to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennynd Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I don't see a reason do the test unless he is in school. even that, there is a limit on how much the school will accelerate the kid. You are lucky to have the luxury to keep the kid home. Even if you need to send the kid back to school, I will suggest you afterschool rather than work with the school, I gave up talking to school a while ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 You can do an out-of-level ITBS/CogAt or Stanford/OLSAT at home fairly inexpensively. Those scores can be used to qualify for a talent search test like the EXPLORE that are accepted by most GATE programs requiring formal test scores. The earliest that the EXPLORE can be given is 3rd grade, so I wouldn't worry about testing for a bit. If DS does not get selected for the free GDC testing, the above is what we are planning for him. I would probably do the out-of-level ITBS/CogAT or Stanford/OLSAT spring semester of 2nd or possibly fall semester of 3rd and the EXPLORE through C-MITES spring semester of 3rd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 I'd personally wait for talent search opportunities too. My kids have never had the full range of testing either. Although, locally to us you can have the Peabody K-12 Achievement or the WJ once you hit that ceiling administered in house for less than $100 by a certified tester. We're required to test annually anyway by the state so it's been nice to use an open ended device. For many of these kids, grade level testing is almost meaningless. We're local to Dr. Ruf and to have the full range of testing done by a GT expert would run probably $2000 per child. If I were negotiating a school system or suspected 2E issues, I might, but that's a bunch of piano lessons and Amazon orders for a homeschooling family! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Will MIL cover the costs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotAVampireLvr Posted February 23, 2012 Author Share Posted February 23, 2012 Will MIL cover the costs? :lol: That's a good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 I have never had my kids tested. I didn't want them to be labeled and since they are home educated it doesn't matter. I work hard at finding great curriculum. Sometimes it feels like I have tried everything at least once. But its really worthwhile when I watch dd13 cruise through her calculus course and consider it normal. I watched my neice carry a 160 number through school and she was a complete outcast and still is struggling. I would test if needed for something they really want to do. But for now they can be exactly who they are without the expectations that seem to be attached to those numbers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova147 Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 We recently had DS7 tested, though not for IQ. It was at a tutoring center and I did it to get a better idea of his strengths and weaknesses. I also wanted some advice on where to go next and my dad knows and trusts the owner. I found it to be helpful in many ways, but I was glad my parents paid the $200. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 In this situation, its really not worth testing is it? My MIL (former gifted and talented teacher) really wants us to get him tested but I can't think of any advantages really. He's being homeschooled anyway and the plan is just to accelerate him as needed. Sounds like you have your answer. :) I haven't tested my oldest either. He is working at his level in each subject, and I don't really need to know a number. I also can already see his strengths and weaknesses pretty plainly. He doesn't have any 2E issues or anything like that. His main issue is the physical act of writing, and we've made huge progress there, and that is a developmental/muscular issue for the most part. The level he tested at for reading is actually a plateau for him that he seems to be pushing through so I know his reading level is probably going to make a big jump in the next couple of months. My son hit a plateau there too. Did your son teach himself to read? It's not uncommon for kids that teach themselves to need a little extra phonics instruction (which you can sneak in via spelling ;) ) to get past the multi-syllable 4th grade words. I used AAS levels 1-3 for this, but really, just learning some basics of syllabication and a few handy rules would have been enough. Once we got to the syllabication part, learning about open and closed syllables and things like that, my son took off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotAVampireLvr Posted February 23, 2012 Author Share Posted February 23, 2012 My son hit a plateau there too. Did your son teach himself to read? It's not uncommon for kids that teach themselves to need a little extra phonics instruction (which you can sneak in via spelling ;) ) to get past the multi-syllable 4th grade words. I used AAS levels 1-3 for this, but really, just learning some basics of syllabication and a few handy rules would have been enough. Once we got to the syllabication part, learning about open and closed syllables and things like that, my son took off. He learned to read the first month of kindergarten. We tried at home to work with him, but he wanted none of it. Once he was reading through he took off, but slow and easy like. He hates anything that doesn't come easy to him and that's one thing he has to work at. I've recently discovered that given science readers that are his reading level he'll devour them and I think that's what's helped him enjoy it and push through the barrier he had in his head that he wasn't any good at it. He does awesome for his age though so its just a mindset he has. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 He learned to read the first month of kindergarten. We tried at home to work with him, but he wanted none of it. Once he was reading through he took off, but slow and easy like. He hates anything that doesn't come easy to him and that's one thing he has to work at. I've recently discovered that given science readers that are his reading level he'll devour them and I think that's what's helped him enjoy it and push through the barrier he had in his head that he wasn't any good at it. He does awesome for his age though so its just a mindset he has. My son prefers non-fiction also. Science and history readers were a huge hit here, and it's great that there are so many at the library that are in the 3rd-4th grade reading level. :D We're still hit or miss on fiction. He didn't like Charlotte's Web or 101 Dalmatians. He loved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and this week read Homer Price, which he also loved. He also loves reading history and science books and encyclopedias. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotAVampireLvr Posted February 23, 2012 Author Share Posted February 23, 2012 My son prefers non-fiction also. Science and history readers were a huge hit here, and it's great that there are so many at the library that are in the 3rd-4th grade reading level. :D We're still hit or miss on fiction. He didn't like Charlotte's Web or 101 Dalmatians. He loved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and this week read Homer Price, which he also loved. He also loves reading history and science books and encyclopedias. Mine LOVES Roald Dahl... we just read George's Marvelous Medicine (not for the weak of heart lol) We currently have a book bag full of books on snakes. Unfortunately we only have a small shelf of non-fiction books at his reading level ... he's almost at the point where he can regularly pull from the middle grade stacks, but right now if he wants to "read" it on his own he has still has a small selection. We make lists of topics and I have to request a lot. We scored this week though when we found a biography on John Henry written at his level - althoughI was curious as to whether or not tall-tales or legends belonged in non-fiction or fiction. I need to look that one up haahha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 I realized that what was causing my DD to plateau shortly after her 7th birthday was vocabulary. She could easily decode anything (DH used to have her read aloud to him from The Economist) but the comprehension was not there because she didn't understand the words she was reading. It might as well have said, "The garglezonk fleebled with the boodlezopes." Easy to decode but impossible to understand. I started her on formal vocabulary study at that point, and as her vocabulary grew, she broke through the plateau. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RanchGirl Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 If you'd rather not test at that is understandable, but if the cost is the main issue, the GDC is doing a study your son may qualify for. It was posted here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotAVampireLvr Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 I realized that what was causing my DD to plateau shortly after her 7th birthday was vocabulary. She could easily decode anything (DH used to have her read aloud to him from The Economist) but the comprehension was not there because she didn't understand the words she was reading. It might as well have said, "The garglezonk fleebled with the boodlezopes." Easy to decode but impossible to understand. I started her on formal vocabulary study at that point, and as her vocabulary grew, she broke through the plateau. you know I never even thought of it being a vocabulary issue... thanks for suggesting that. It does make sense in a lot of ways. He's a word guesser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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